1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure of a vacuum insulator with an assembly reciprocating support that may increase a thermal insulation performance.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is estimated that about one half of global energy consumption is attributed to residential and commercial buildings, and a large portion of such energy is used for heating and cooling the buildings. Recently, an innovative method, a vacuum insulator, is emerging as a method of reducing an amount of energy necessary for heating and cooling.
The vacuum insulator is highly evacuated to get rid of the heat transfer through a gas. Therefore, the vacuum insulator has an insulation performance at least 10 times higher than conventional insulators, for example, polyurethane foam, and glass wool. Due to high insulation performance of the vacuum insulator, energy loss may be effectively reduced. Since the vacuum insulator may occupy a relatively small space, utilization of spaces in a building may be improved. Due to such advantages, research on the vacuum insulator is being conducted widely with respect to a building, a refrigerator, and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier.
Korean patent application publication No. 2011-0049363 is directed to a vacuum insulator. The vacuum insulator includes only a core material and an envelope. Since an external atmospheric pressure may be applied directly to the core material, the core material may need to act as an assembly reciprocating support configured to endure the atmospheric pressure. Thus, a material of the core material may be limited to a material that may endure compression. In addition, a density of the core material may be changed by the compression, and such a change may cause a decrease in an insulation performance.